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SERIES: Need to write a resume? Here's how

By SUSAN OSCILOWSKI For The Lebanon Daily News

Updated:
01/29/2013 10:56:27 AM EST

Launching a job hunt is like marching into battle: Being prepared can mean the difference between success and defeat. One of the most important weapons in your armory is a resume, tailor-fit to fill a specific job.

When the time comes to find a job, an excellent resume is one of the best means to sell yourself, the experts say. Although friends and strangers may avoid you on the street if you are focused on self-promotion, a resume is the appropriate place to launch your tirade.
According to the Lebanon County PA CareerLink administrator, Lori Rank understanding what a resume is and isn't should be considered before you begin constructing one.

In a presentation she has used to educate job seekers, Rank clarifies that the resume is not the same thing as a job application. It is not considered an official personal document, and if your past work history (or lack of one) fills you with guilt and shame, save a discussion of it for a meeting with your minister or therapist - your resume is not a place to confess past mistakes on the job.

If you want a potential employer to consider you, you must do your homework. Do research on the company. Most companies - even small ones - have websites full of helpful information to aid your search.

Specific details can be found elsewhere on the Internet. Before you write, read the job ad and highlight the details. They are usually very specific about necessary skills, education and experience for the available opening. If you lack any of those qualifications, skip the process and search for another position which you are capable of matching. Time is essential: Don't waste your time - or the employer's.

You need to make yourself stand out as the candidate above the rest, based on your particular abilities, experience and how they match the employers' needs.

Communicate your past accomplishments with clarity and honesty, as you list the work you have done.

Your personal contact information should be listed clearly at the top of the sheet. If your current email address is cutesy, vulgar, slang or silly, create a new, professional email account using your name@the chosen domain address.

An objective summarizing the type of work you request appears next. Your research into the needs of the employer's specification for the job is critical here. Avoid a generic-sounding goal like: "finding satisfactory work in a field I enjoy." Instead, phrase it in a manner which spells out your strongest skill coupled with the way that skill fits the desired position.

How you list your background will depend on several things. If your work history is impressive and demonstrates advancement in your field, your experience is related directly to the job opening, and your education meets the requirements, then using a chronological format is best. List the name and location of past employers, dates you worked there, and title or titles you held - in reverse order, starting with most recent. Your education should also list the highest level achieved (like college) first. Brief details of your accomplishments should be listed with each entry.

However, if your work history is sporadic with gaps of time where you were unemployed, your career path was like a fly at a picnic, and you lack the education and paid work experience specific to the job sought, a skills-based/ functional resume may be better suited. Monster.com recommends using this format if you change jobs often - and in a variety of fields. Parents re-entering the work force after staying at home to raise children or care for a disabled family member - as well as recent graduates without paid work experience may prefer this type of resume.

Not sure which to try? Rank suggests a combination resume, which mixes elements of the other two formats.

Describe and quantify your accomplishments as you give an overview of your skills and jobs. Emphasize specific skills including paid and non-paid, which paid experience as it relates to the position you seek. Instead of describing yourself as "energetic, motivated and driven" use terms such as "increased, improved, developed, or researched," specific terms which reflect measurable standards or achievements.

The resume should be one side only. Instead of concluding the document with "References Available upon Request," use a separate sheet to actually list those references, including contact information and relationship to you. Always ask a person if they are willing to be used as a reference before including them.

Avoid exaggerating anything on your resume. Employers can and do investigate claims, and when discrepancies come to light, they are grounds for dismissal.

Cover letters are appropriate in many circumstances, but make them brief, summarizing the highlights of the items on the enclosed resume. Use them to impress the employer with your knowledge of their company and how your employment will benefit them.

Remember, how you present yourself on your resume should reflect the specific job you are seeking. The same goes for the cover letter.

There are many examples of resumes available online, so look at many samples before creating or revising yours.